Back Home in Tennessee. Alaska Trip Mileage 11,754.

I left part of myself left behind the Alaska Highway and have to return one day. We're now back home in Tennessee, but I am already pining away for "someday". There are many things to write about our drive to Alaska. It wasn't one adventure, but many. The trip was beyond amazing. The total miles traveled were 11,754.

In addition to our plans we had some unusual experiences. There was the controlled forest fire in Canada, the Alaska 5.7 earthquake, hailstorm, Glacier National Park rock slide... None of those moments were anticipated but they certainly added excitement to the trip.

Then there were the really cool moments.

One of these came in the middle of nowhere. We were driving through a stretch of road when my daughter popped in a CD. I was pleasantly surprised that to hear this mix of not-so-oldies music and began singing along with my college age daughter. That's when she looked at me with wild eyed amazement and shockly proclaimed "Mom, I didn't know you liked Styx!"

The focus of the trip was to help build a house. Housebuilding in Alaska is very different than in Tennessee. We carefully installed about 21" of insulation, and a vapor proof barrier, to the satisfaction of both a human and a four-footed supervisor. The barrier keeps out the moisture and is a necessity in Alaska.

Staying in the church fellowship hall with the rest of the team and using the church's port-a-potty were definitely new experiences too. Meeting everyone, participating in worship, seeing my daughter grow in confidence... Those memories will be with me forever. Anticipation of those memories are what spurred the trip.

The way back was just as exciting. Hubby joined us for the drive home. The driving help was appreciated. My daughter can't. The state won't allow it since she has epilepsy. Without John all of the driving was up to me.

Our trip was worth it though. We saw things that I never dreamed I'd get to see. Canadian Rockies, the Continental Divide, Glacier National Park, Yellowstone, Mt. Rushmore, open fields and vast expanses of prairie all combined to truly make this the Mother-Daughter Alaska Trip of a Lifetime!

For a Google Map of our trip click here. Because of the size, small computer screens may have difficulty getting it to show up.

Here are a few photos. More are on my Picasa Web Album.



Photo of a Canadian firefighter working the forest fire.










This is where we were when we felt the earthquake. It turns out that Alaska is famous for them.









In Glacier National Park we ran into challenges with a hailstorm which was followed by a small rock slide.




We've decided that this saying is true...

A bad day on a Mother-Daughter Trip of a Lifetime beats a good day at the office!

What a trip this was!